Le blog de Kristin Odegard

Ready Cash : the one and only!

Publié le par Kristin Odegard Kristin Odegard

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Saturday was an exciting day at Vincennes with both prep races for the Prix D’Amérique and the Prix De Vincennes. Here is a summary of the main events. 

Ready Cash impressive in the Prix Du Bourbonnais.

The highlight of the day was the Prix Du Bourbonnais, the second prep race for the Prix D’Amérique. Ready Cash had a 25m handicap because of his high earnings; this handicap normally makes this task difficult. But a real champion can overcome anything, no? Well Ready Cash was just amazing! He took a great start, waited followed Severino and then won with a lot of confidence, no one could follow him, he won easily. Severino put up a nice fight but the big difference between the two horses is that Christian Bigeon was quite demanding with his partner (who answered really well!) and Frank Nivard was just sitting still letting Ready Cash do the job. Roxane Griff did a great race, as always! It is a pity she got a bit stuck or she would probably have been fighting with Ready Cash and Severino. Private Love, last years winner did a good race with Anthony Barrier in the sulky. Punchy impressed me, he is always in the action, no matter the category, the track or the distance! What a tough little horse! The Scandinavian horses weren’t very lucky. Iceland was first three wide for nearly the whole race and got a bit tired. I heard that Tamla Celeber was preparing the Critérium Continental; she will be ready with the race she got Saturday. She started fast and took the lead; laid three wide until out of the last turn and weakened. Beanie M.M. was the best of the Swedish horses, he is a really tall (1m68) beautiful entire. He got a bit unlucky laying in the second half of the field, he tried to follow Ready Cash and Severino but Save The Quick was pulled out in front of him but none of them managed to follow Severino and Ready Cashs speed. Beanie M.M. had to go around his tired rivals to get a 7th place. It was a pity because he finished well, he didn’t look tired but he was quite far behind the whole time. I really hope he will race in France again, I think he has things to do here! At least for the places because I don’t think anyone can beat Ready Cash… I met Beanie M.M.s trainer Morten Waage and he hadn’t yet decided what the horse will do next.

In the Prix Narquois a group three for 5 year olds, Sogo showed style! It was only the third race since February, first time he finshed 7th, a couple of weeks ago he was second behind Sud in the Prix Des Chenonceaux, now it was his turn. Sogo is a good horse, he had some health problems after last winter, that’s why he hasn’t raced much; he has only raced 17 time, his rivals have raced between 30 and 40 times already. Looking forward to the Prix De Bourgogne in two weeks time!

Sir De Banville opened the day, winning the Prix Des Seiches-sur-le-Loir, a group three under saddle over 2175m. Sir De Banville was ridden by Ludovic Mollard, he is trained by Jean-Michel Bazire. There was a long fight between Sir De Banville and Jean Lucks Sakura Jiel, the gelding beat the mare on the finish line. November, 17th Sakura Jiel beat Sir De Banville with a nose, there is little to choose between these horses, they both went 1’13’4.

In the next race, the Prix Ariste Hémard, a group two for four year-old fillies over the “classic distance” : 2700m the two same trainers fought the first places. Tamara Jiel also races for Jean Lucks colours, she is trained by Jean-Luc Dersoir and she was droven by Jos Verbeeck. Tequila Berry was second, she took the lead in the final stretch but was beaten by Tamara Jiel who finished really fast. They both did a good time over the distance : 1’14’2. This race is an important race for the fillies in the winter-meeting. It is a prestigious race, before 2004 the race was open for colts and foreign horses. Varenne won the Prix Ariste Hémard in 1999, other foreigners Naglo, Gigant Neo, General November also got their names in the honour list. Excellent horses like Ténor De Beaune, Arnaqueur, Défi D’Aunou, Giant Cat and Jag De Bellouet have also won this race … Nowadays the equivalent for colts is the Prix Octave Douesnel.

Un Gergaud and David Thomain

The Prix Raoul Ballière, a group two for three year-olds under saddle was also very interesting. It was an easy win for Un Gergaud. Daniel Bethouart has some nice horses at the moment! Un Gergaud won his third consecutive race at Vincennes, he has raced only 8 times (for 4 victories). But unfortunately I heard that Un Gergaud hurt himself after the race, so I’m not sure when we will see him again… Un Tresor did a nice race but wasn’t a threat to the winner. Up Market and Up Lady finished near each other in front of Un Team De Nacre. I really like Un Team de Nacre, (especially since his trainer is one of my best friends). The horse is very good but he is a bit irregular and he showed that he could run against the best in spite of his very slow start. These horses will be seen again in the Prix De Vincennes.

Great impressions at Vincennes

Publié le par Kristin Odegard Kristin Odegard

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The days at Vincennes just get better and better! There is fabulous racing absolutely everyday!

Prix Paul Buquet

The Prix Paul Buquet had a dramatic arrival; Riglorieux Du Bois acutally won easily but was disqualified after inquiry. This international group two race over 2850m is a prep race for the Prix De Cornulier even though it was open for geldings and 10 year-olds. Geldings aren’t eligible to race the world’s biggest monté race and today’s 10 year-olds will be 11 in the beginning of 2012 and will be too old to keep on competing in France. 10 year-old mare, Nuit Torride made a come-back under saddle in this “semi-classic” but was disqualified from her 5th place after inquiry. The three first places went to monté champions: Roi Du Lupin, Risque Tout and Quemeu D’Ecublei.
Sadly, these three horses are geldings and won’t be seen in the big race!

Le Cannibale

Vincennes hosted another group two race last Saturday, the Prix Doynel De
Saint-Quentin over 2850m. Only eleven horses were entered in this European race.
Le Cannibale, named with the nick-name of his father Jag De Bellouet,
recently arrived in Fabrice Souloy’s training, from Stig H Johansson, made
a great impression. He won in 1’15’0, in front of Stefan Melander’s Oracle and Sancho Turgot. Three horses that were expected to race well did not manage to follow Le Cannibale. These are: Critérium des 5 ans winner: Scoop D’Yvel, Prix Jockey winner: Son alezan and the Swedish horse Caballion. Le Cannibale will probably have a successful winter.

Un Poco Loco and Yann Gérard win the Coupe Inter-Régionale Des 3 Ans.

Vincennes hosted a top-class meeting again on Sunday. The Coupe Inter-Régionale Des 3 Ans is a group three race over 2700m. Twelve horses were qualified to race the final. This race is the final of a tournament for three year-olds, the
qualifying races are regional and they take place on tracks all over France. The horses qualify to the final at Vincennes with a point system. Un Poco Loco is not crazy as his name could say! He waited patiently in fourth place and placed his sprint out of the final curve leaving no chance for his rivals to follow him. Unabella Perrine just did a winning come-back giving Charles-Antoine Mary his 100th win as a driver finished well to second place. Uranie Lorraine was the leader throughout the race, driven confidently by Jean-Michel Bazire didn’t manage to do the same performance as her last race. She won with about 10 lenghts but on Sunday she was third.

The Prix Philippe Du Rozier is a group two under saddle over 2175m. It has seen a lot of great winners such as: Queila Gédé, Vivier De Montfort, Kerido Du Donjon, Miss Castelle or more recently Singalo. Eric Raffin won the last three editions of the race but this year’s edition was won by Nathalie Henry and Trotting Race. Nathalie Henry hadn’t won a race at this level and hadn’t been riding much either since the birth of her first child, Chloé. It felt good to see Nathalie back at top level! Trotting Race is trained by Jean Baudron and owned by Ecurie D. She is by Goetmals Wood, the best stallion in France. Tigresse Du Vivier was second and Tango Quick third.

Quif De Villeneuve, brilliant in the GNT.

The whole day was prestigious but the final of the Grand National Du Trot was the day’s big event. The trotting “Tour de France” took 13 stops on the
best race tracks in France and the most successful horses came to Vincennes for the final. Quif De Villeneuve had already won the tournament, he had 73 point and the second horse, Riktigt Gentil had 38 points… No surprise in the final: Quif De Villeneuve made the whole tournament his! He won with a 55 point advance. Quif De Villeneuve is a son of Coktail Jet, he is bred by Michel Royer and Séverine Raimond. Quif De Villeneuve is owned by Ecurie Augustin-Normand (and Franck Amar, Antonio De Sousa and Franck Leblanc). He is trained by Franck Leblanc since april. Until then Quif De Villeneuve was trained by Séverine Raimond (he won 16 races with her) but in april he was sold at the Trotting Promotion auction for 145 000€. He has already paid himself off twice! Franck Leblanc said they won’t cut corners and aim the Prix D’Amérique but he will probably be entered in the Prix De Paris, which suits his capacities better.

The amateurs have their tournament too, the Grand National des Amateurs. Like Quif De Villeneuve, Reach De Vandel dominated his tour. Reach De Vandel was bought at the Prix D’Amérique sales 2011 for 65 000€ by Pascal Garreau, he has been paid off too. He has won 15 races this year!

The four year-old had their Coupe Inter-régionale aswell, Eric Raffin continued his winning spree, winning the race with Trésor Du Breil.

Promising youngsters!

Publié le par Kristin Odegard Kristin Odegard

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Last Friday and Saturday, there were some very interesting races for two year-olds at Vincennes race track.

The Prix Ourasi was last Fridays attraction. It bears the name of the champion Ourasi, who won the Prix D’Amérique four times. It’s a group three race over 2200m. 4th in the Prix Louis Cauchois (group three) last month, Valentin Du Gite won the race quite easily. Vif Lucernais is a tough two-year old, he took the second place. The two favourites had a bad day, Vaillant Cash galloped after 200m and Versus galloped later while he was in the lead.

The equivalent for fillies is the Prix Vourasie. Vourasie was Ourasi‘s sister. She was also an amazing race horse. She won the Prix De Paris three times and the Prix de France once; she also got a second place in the Prix D’Amérique.
In this race the favourites were deceiving too. The big favourite, Vipsie Griff didn’t manage to remain unbeaten. Sébastien Guarato’s filly lost
all her chances in her bad start. It looked like the victory would go to the
talented filly Via Josselyn but she galloped in the final stretch. Valse Du
Verne also had a good chance but galloped at the start of the race too. Vigogne Du Boulay (26/1) was lucky when her rivals lost all chances; she resisted Viscarias
attack and won the third race out of four races in her career.

Last week at Vincennes

Publié le par Kristin Odegard Kristin Odegard

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The weather is still quite mild in France so we can spend some confortable days of top-class racing at Vincennes race-track.

The Prix De Chenonceaux was a the highlight of last week-end. A group 3 race for 4 and 5 year-olds. It was a european race and it had attracted a lot of foreign horses. The italian and swedish horses have had great results in the beginning of this winter-meeting but this time the winner was french. Sud, trained and owned by the Janvier family beat Sogo and Treskool Du Caux. Napoleon Bar was the first foreign horse of this Quinté, followed by Stefan Melanders Oracle and Nalda Nof. Nalda Nof recently arrived from Italy. This 4 year-old filly by Supergill is owned by Jean-Pierre Barjon. The businessman behind the lemonade brand Lorina and the owner of Prix D’Amérique winner Meaulnes Du Corta. He is also investing in foreign trotters now, he has just bought some italian trotters and american standardbreds. The winner, Sud is a son of Kerido Du Donjon, Jean-Luc Janviers previous star. Kerido Du Donjon raced at top level in both disciplines and his son, Sud is a good horse under saddle and in the sulky. He wont’t be allowed to race the same races as his father because he is a gelding but Jean-Luc Janvier will probably have a lot of nice moments with this horse !

On Monday 28th there also was a nice european race, the Prix De Sillé Le Guillaume. Petrone Du Vivier and Venividivici Joe went horribly fast but were beaten by the swedish horse Amiral Sund on the finish line. Amiral Sund and Petrone Du Vivier did the 2100m of the « grande piste » in 1’11’7. Petrone Du Vivier is trained by Stephane Meunier. He trains in Normandy, his stable is in great form in the beginning of this meeting, in 10 days he had 4 wins (Uvoline Du Sam, Umaga, Usaurie de Melodie and Recia Du Closet) and 2 second places ( Petrone Du Vivier and Usance Darche who gave him a double as a trainer with Usaurie De Melodie ) for 6 horses racing !

Wednesday 28th, the Prix D’Honfleur was a good monté race. Recia Du Closet a talented and fast mare by Lulo Josselyn won in 1’11’4 over 2175m. Her goal this winter will be the Prix De Cornulier, the world’s most prestigious monté race, it takes place the week-end before the Prix D’Amérique.

The first day in december was also a pleasant day at Vincennes. The Prix Des Landes opened the day, a group 3 race for 6 to 10 year old horses that have earned under 750 000€ smiled to Italy. Jos Verbeeck and Leben RL were first over the finish line before Prestige Guichen and Roc De Montfort. There was a lot of talk around two horses Rachmaninov Seven for JMB and Roberto Donati‘s Roxana de Barbray but they both galloped at the end of the race.

The last prep race for the Prix De Vincennes was on wednesday, Prix Urgent. The victory went to Uranus De Larré who confirms his qualities under saddle and will settle as one of the favourites for the Prix De Vincennes. Nicolas Raimbeaux‘s colt won really easily. He has earned 105 000€ in his last two races and looks like he has much more to give. He still never gets himself tired and nearly looks lazy !

Recia Du Closet isn’t the only mare to go for the Prix De Cornulier this winter. Save The Quick won her third consecutive race in 1’15’2 for the same number of races under saddle in the Prix Joseph Lafosse, a group 2 race over 2700m. In the Prix Edmond Henry also won by Save The Quick, Simba De Nacre was second, he also was second this time but was disqualified after enquiry. The two fillies will have a nice card to play as the best monté horses this year are geldings and are not eligible to race the Prix De Cornulier.

Double group win for Thierry Duvaldestin

Publié le par Kristin Odegard Kristin Odegard

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This monday was also a big day on the « Plateau de Gravelle » with another two prep races for the Critérium des 3 ans.

The 4th race, the Prix Annick Dreux also called « Critérium des Pouliches » or previously Prix Queila Gédé (the race now bears the name of Queila Gédé’s recently-deceased breeder Annick Dreux) saw yet another demonstration from Ecurie Augustin-Normand‘s Union D’Urzy. This was Jos Verbeeck‘s third group win with the filly in as many outings. As in the Prix Reine Du Corta, she beat Une Lady En Or but this time Une Lady En Or was disqualified after a stewards’ enquiry. Union Quality took a good 2nd place for Ecurie Victoria Dreams. Ecurie Victoria Dreams belongs to Jean-Philippe Dubois and family and has great sucess with its young stock. Philippe Allaire presented Upper Class and Johanna Lindqvist gave her a nice trip to take a reassuring third place. Union D’Urzy won in 1’16’3 over the 2700m grande piste. The time was not so impressive for fillies of this quality.

 The equivalent for three year old colts is the Prix Jacques De Vaulogé and this race went rather faster : 1’15’2 over the same distance. Thierry Duvaldestin took a double with Uniclove and Uaukir. He drove Uniclove himself and Uaukir was driven by Frank Nivard. Uraki Des Sarts took a nice third place (if you speak french, I advise you to read Alexis Levy’s blog called « en pensant à Ferdinand »). Sebastien Guarato‘s star Uncaring finished well without worrying the leaders. It might be early to draw parallels but Ready Cash won this race in 2008… Thierry Duvaldestin might have big plans with this talented colt… Before looking too far ahead, the next race for these horses will be the Critérium des 3 ans in Vincennes December 11th.

In the second race, the Prix de Montignac-Charente there was a nice field. Robert Keeper (pronounced « Robert qui perds » which translates as « Robert the loser ») won his 4th consecutive race driven by Jos Verbeeck for Jean-Michel Bazire‘s training. The partnership : Verbeeck-Bazire has become more and more frequent sight on french race cards. Jean-Michel Bazire drove Romcok De Guez who was disqualified whilst fighting for third place. Robert Keeper beat Roberto Donati‘s two good mares, Quela Rive (2nd) and Roxana De Barbray (4th), Rambo Jet was third and Striking Actions was fifth putting an end to his series of victories.

The last race of the day, Prix De Bignones was open for two year old colts and geldings. There’s a lot of hypes surrounding the winner Volcan D’Urzy. This was his second victory in 4 outings. His two wins were very impressive. He raced just behind the leaders and when he found a gap he dominated his rivals easily. Jean-Philippe Dubois, his driver sat still in the sulky. Volcan D’Urzy is trained by Philippe Moulin and owned by Ecurie Victoria Dreams, he is by the very promising young stallion Password and Jabotte D’Urzy. Volcan D’Urzy cost 57 000€ on last years Vincennes Yearling auction.